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Yesterday, Saturday March 20, 2010, the Volcom & Flip professional skate team skorched the streets of Manila with a skate demo that will go down as the greatest exhibition of skating talent these islands have ever witnessed.

To well over 5000 estimated in attendance at Fort Bonifacio, High Street, skaters from all throughout the Metro Manila area were treated to an jaw dropping exhibition of international skate talent from Mark Appleyard, David Gonzales, Luan Oliveira, Willow, and Louie Lopez.

(Manila, Philippines March 19, 2010) Only months since the dust settled from the DVS Skate Tour last December in Fort Bonifacio, Aloha Boardsports drops another awe-inspiring skate event guaranteed to rock the very foundation of Global City’s Skyline. International clothing company and extreme sports leader, Volcom along with Flip Skateboards have assembled a team of world-renowned skaters to temporarily take over the scorching streets of Metro Manila for a weeklong tour. The festivities begin on March 19, 2010 with Flip Skateboard’s video premiere, “Extremely Sorry” -a skateboarding exhibition and follow with the Sari-Sari Skate Tour -the Philippine’s very first national skateboarding tour. It’s not just another ordinary tour, it’s the Volcom and Flip: Thrilla In Manila.

“We’ve put together a lot of successful tours but I always look forward to tours involving Volcom because they’re our showcase brand. The 2008 Balut Salute Volcom Tour was really successful but I believe that this one will be bigger and better. The skaters coming for the event are some of Volcom’s top guys and we will have a mix of one of the best veteran skaters ever, Mark Appleyard. Joining him will be some of the best, young skaters in the world like David Gonzalez, Luan De Oliveira, Willow and 14-year old Louie Lopez.” Adds Aloha Boardsports’ president, Freddy Gonzalez, as time quickly counts down to the upcoming affair.

Volcom is a company that has founded its business around supporting talented athletes in realizing their potential, similar to Aloha Boardsports’ own principles. “Youth Against Establishment”, Volcom’s philosophy that institutes a campaign to be a company that invests in youth and in nurturing non-conforming styles over redundant trends and pseudo-vogue traditions. Eddie Miyoshi, International Sales Manager for Volcom says, “The term ‘Youth Against Establishment’ is not a negative slogan against the government or anything of the sort but a very fundamental property of Volcom. It’s something we put into our designs, riders, art, music and lifestyle. Volcom’s whole persona is the rebellious company. A brand targeted for the rebellious youth supporting creativity on all parts of our sports, art, music, fashion and not directed at the government but the permanent structures that are built and directed for all to conform to and which lack creativity and thought.”

The showcase of riders that Volcom and Flip Skateboards will be presenting on this occasion has been deemed by local skaters to be the most energetic group to roll polyurethane wheels across urban Filipino terrain in the last few years. “The hype behind this tour is massive and the guys are stoked to be a part of the Thrilla in Manila Tour. We have a solid crew and this is Luan’s first major tour since he turned pro, so it’s definitely going to be a trip to remember!” Adds Flip skateboards Team manager and marketing coordinator, Andrew Shusterman. Andrew will be accompanying the Volcom and Flip team on their trip to Philippines, while joining Andrew will be Steve Stratton, Volcom’s team manager who had this to share, “I think the Thrilla in Manila Tour is going to be off the hook. We have a really good squad of guys coming out and between all of them, there is a lot of positive energy brewing for this trip. These guys can’t wait to come out and experience everything the Philippines will have to offer.”

Award winning, 2003 Thrasher Magazine Skater of The Year as well as numerous other awards, Mark Appleyard will headline the event. At 28 years of age, Mark is the veteran rider on the team. Originally from Canada but now residing in Huntington Beach, California, Appleyard is well known for his smooth style and laid back personality.

Along with Appleyard, but definitely not over shadowed by his presence is, 20 year old, David Gonzalez from Medellin, Colombia. Gonzalez’s increasing popularity in North and South America has been steadily growing, as he becomes well known for doing big tricks as well as displaying an array of technical prowess.

Luan Oliveira, a 20-year-old Brazilian transplant, has recently changed his career status from amateur to professional in February of this year. This will be Luan’s first tour since joining the pro ranks so he will definitely be taking the demo to a different level by exhibiting an arsenal of highly technical tricks.

Flip Skateboard’s 26 year-old European counterpart, known simply as “Willow”, is a Flip team rider from East Germany. Willow has been known for causing a big stir in the European skate scene and is a surefire to light up during his weeklong tour of the Philippines.

Last but not least, Louie Lopez, a 14 year old from California. The youngest on the team, Lopez is still among the amateur ranks but regardless of his status, he can still bust moves like the pros.

On Saturday March 20, 2010, Fort Bonifacio These five amazing skaters will be putting on an exciting demonstration of freestyle skating that cannot be missed - especially by skating aficionados around the Metro. As a precursor, the feats of these professionals will also be on display in their new video called, “Extremely Sorry”, the third installment in Flip Skateboard’s trilogy of skate videos; “Sorry”, “Really Sorry” and “Extremely Sorry”. On Friday the 19th, before the actual skate demo, Handle Bar and Grill on Polaris Street in Makati will be providing a laid back rock and roll feel to the first staging of Flip’s newest skateboarding film, which exhibits the flair of all the skaters that will be performing at the demo. It will be the first time that the video will be shown in the Philippines; so the organizers at Aloha ensured that debut remains a FREE event to all that can attend. Premiere-goers will be rocking the night away with Crow Jane as lead singer; Nicole Asensio shakes down the house before and after the 45-minute film. As an added bonus, there will be a raffle for skateboard decks, clothing and other skate swag throughout the night.

The Thrilla in Manila will also be kicking off the first-ever national skateboarding tour. Other companies have presented national tours in the past but what makes this tour unique is that there will be a point system that will be attached to the tour. Five national stops have been designed to incorporate different regions of the nation, though their locations have yet to be announced. After the fifth competition, all of the competitors’ points will be tallied and a national champion will be decided. An event of this nature has not occurred in the history of Pinoy skating since the sport’s induction into the country.

There will be two categories of skateboarding, a 16 Year-old and under division and an Open Men’s division. Riders will be judged on their routine in 6 different areas of the skate park, with a maximum of 10 points per area. Skaters will be put into fifteen-minute heats that have 15 members each. The top five riders with the highest score out of 60 total points will advance. After three rounds, the winners of each division will collect a monetary reward. The 16 and under champion will receive P10,000 while the victor of the Open Men’s division will get P15,000 for their winning performance. In the end, the most consistent and adept skater in each category will take home a P50,000 Grand Prize for their overall exploits throughout the year.

Poised to be the skating event of the year, this precedent making tour of the Philippines, presented by Aloha Boardsports, packs more variety than any other skate event. With an extremely charged mix of international skaters, a highly anticipated video premiere and a grass roots skating competition clandestine to make history and take local skating to new heights, this is not just an average skate tour – it’s the Thrilla in Manila.

“It always hard to ‘one up’ yourself but I think we are able to do it on the sheer talent of the guys coming as well as the Sari-Sari Skate Tour that we are going to kick off for the local skate community. After doing a few tours and bringing the world’s top skate talent to the Philippines, it was about time that we moved our focus to developing our local talent and giving them a platform to better their skills.” Adds Freddy Gonzalez.